Arne Slot‘s first proper friendly in charge of Liverpool ended with a 1-0 win over Real Betis in Pittsburgh, with some encouraging signs from the Reds.
Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis
Pre-season Friendly, Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh, PA)
July 27, 2024
Goal: Szoboszlai 34′
A positive and encouraging start to preseason
It was a bit of a stuttering first half display as the players were shedding the cobwebs and finding their feet.
An error strewn first 20 minutes or so thankfully went unpunished and an excellent move featuring Trey Nyoni, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mo Salah saw our number eight finish with aplomb.
While playing in a different ‘position’ here, Szoboszlai’s role this coming season should be much different to that under Klopp. “The centre-mids were always lads who were runners and more disciplined,” said Curtis Jones this week and Szoboszlai should be one to benefit from the changed midfield setup.
After the goal, the Reds took control and really never let go. Even the introduction of a host of youngsters failed to disrupt the Reds’ momentum and, in fact, helped to maintain and even improve it.
Changing formations
It was a strange starting set up, even given the sparsity of senior players at our disposal.
The defence was a typical shape, but ahead of them, it was difficult to figure out who was playing deep, who were the advanced midfielders, and other than Mo, who were the forwards?
As the game progressed, the tactics and formations remained fluid. Given we were also missing a host of top class first teamers, it was too early – and there were too many changes – to get any kind of definitive idea of how Arne Slot will set the team up when the season starts.
“During the season you will see us play with a real striker, but at this moment we have no one available,” Slot explained post-match.
“That is maybe out of necessity, but for the rest, the style of play, with trying to build out from the back, that is our style.”
READ: Arne Slot explains surprise formation vs. Real Betis – and why we won’t see it often!
Trey Nyoni shines – but Slot’s correct
We had seen very little of 17-year-old Trey Nyoni prior to this game, but what a performance it was from him.
His introduction (after half an hour due to injury to Jones) paid immediate dividends as it was his clever forward ball to Szoboszlai that created the space for the only goal.
Within ten minutes he had played several inventive forward passes through the lines; it was a feature of his game throughout his forty minutes on the pitch. Another was his ability to find time and space.
It’s too easy to go overboard too soon, but it is a fact that many great midfielders have that trait and to see it in evidence today in one so young was highly encouraging.
Thankfully, Slot rightly played down expectations post-match, saying: “He did well, but he just turned 17, his body has to grow – and we are really careful with him.
“You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play a Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.”
Midfield – a positive conundrum?
It was almost a ‘first choice’ starting midfield trio with Szoboszlai, Endo and Jones supplemented by Harvey Elliott.
It’s unfair to be too critical given it was the first competitive preseason friendly, but it’s also fair to say that some of the performances were a little disappointing in the first half.
Szoboszlai was neat and tidy and of course scored the only goal but was also often on the fringes of the game. Elliott was hit and miss throughout his time on the field and Jones looked ponderous and uncertain until eventually coming off injured.
But then their replacements came in and completely changed the dynamic and energy of the midfield engine room. Many of the youngsters did themselves proud and must have done their future chances no harm at all.
Youngsters the biggest positive?
Perhaps the most encouraging take away from this game has to be the highly impressive performances of a host of youngsters. Many caught the eye – in fact most of them caught the eye!
Stefan Bajcetic was solid upon his welcome returnin the final half hour. Ben Doak at times skipped past his markers with consummate ease. Tyler Morton played his role with authority. These are just a few of the top performers on show.
Conor Bradley was my man of the match and Jarrell Quansah had a typically impressive outing – both just 21 years old.
READ: Arne Slot explains surprise formation vs. Real Betis – and why we won’t see it often!
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